Arizona Winter 2017

[Shot-N-Az]

So we are doing our first snowbird adventure and we are in Arizona. Honest to gosh, the weather back home in the DC area isn't much worse than here, and on some days it has actually been warmer.

Everyone is telling me this is an unusual year. Lucky us.

Sorry, just had to rant a bit. This has not turned out to be what we had in mind. We are learning a lot of lessons for next year though.

[Me_Again]

Thunder Mountain wrote:
Worst winter in our five years of birding in the Apache Junction area. 36 degrees this morning. But it will warm up to lower 50s this afternoon. Supposed to be "cold" all week. Heck of a lot warmer than Colorado, and I don't have to shovel "it".

We have been in the area for 8 or 9 years. Have had many freeze nights in past years that broke off the stand pipes in Canyon Vistas, none this year so far. I will take sun over the NW grey rainy skies in the winter. Flew my RC airplanes in clear skies today. Chris

[BarbaraOK]

rocmoc wrote:

2gypsies wrote:
OMG!! Where are they getting these numbers from or am I reading it wrong? It shows being in the teens or low 20's for months!!! I can assure you that isn't the case.

http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/green-valley-az/85614/january-weather/2141944?monyr=1/1/2017

I will let the numbers do the talking. Was 23 degrees this morning and I am just a short 18 miles from you on the Santa Cruz River.

rocmoc n AZ

Elevation. Tucson is always cooler than Phoenix or Yuma, etc. And the further away from a metro area you are, the cooler the temperature as the 'heat sink' nightly radiation is much, much smaller.

[John_Joey]

2gypsies wrote:

John&Joey wrote:

2gypsies wrote:
... No, it's not hot and humid but to us it's more than O.K. 🙂

Are you a mobile RV'er currently, or are you in some form of a S&B?

Yes, we're now in 'some sort of S&B'. 🙂 However, we've wintered in southern AZ for 14 years....tried Florida and Texas two other years and it wasn't for us.

I know you've FT'ed for a long time and have many road miles under your tires. So please don't be offended by my above question.

Here is my vision of a 40 degree morning in AZ/FL/TX.

In a S&B:

• Turn up the residential furnace
• Turn on the oven
• On the kitchen island get all the stuff to make scones
• While coffee is brewing, mix ingredients
• Drop onto cookie pan and put dirty dishes into the dishwasher
• Wait for the heavenly scent
• Take out of oven and go into the sunroom
• Nice and warm if on the east side, otherwise put on slippers
• While having coffee and scones watch the weather channel
• Laugh at those up north fighting the weather
• Read the paper till about 11am
• Go out and about, and tell everyone what a great winter it's been.

In a RV:

• Wake up and see if you got running water
• Turn up the RV furnace that's about 60% efficient
• Make some toast to save on making a mess
• Turn on the coffee now that you know you got running water
• Enjoy the coffee and toast while watching the weather channel
• Say how great it is not to be shoveling snow
• Sit in the 150 sq foot RV living room waiting till 11am
• Go out at 10am under the awning and say "**** it's too cold out there still"
• Wait another hour to start the day.

[rocmoc]

2gypsies wrote:
OMG!! Where are they getting these numbers from or am I reading it wrong? It shows being in the teens or low 20's for months!!! I can assure you that isn't the case.

http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/green-valley-az/85614/january-weather/2141944?monyr=1/1/2017

I will let the numbers do the talking. Was 23 degrees this morning and I am just a short 18 miles from you on the Santa Cruz River.

rocmoc n AZ

[2gypsies1]

John&Joey wrote:

2gypsies wrote:
... No, it's not hot and humid but to us it's more than O.K. 🙂

Are you a mobile RV'er currently, or are you in some form of a S&B?

Yes, we're now in 'some sort of S&B'. 🙂 However, we've wintered in southern AZ for 14 years....tried Florida and Texas two other years and it wasn't for us.

[2gypsies1]

OMG!! Where are they getting these numbers from or am I reading it wrong? It shows being in the teens or low 20's for months!!! I can assure you that isn't the case.

http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/green-valley-az/85614/january-weather/2141944?monyr=1/1/2017

[rocmoc]

2gypsies wrote:
Our heat so far has been much less than last year. According to this chart for Tucson December had a low of 44 and a high of 80 for the month. We've been able to play pickleball daily. I'll take it!

https://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KDMA/2016/12/1/MonthlyHistory.html?req_city=Tucson&req_...

DM and TIA are not good data locations. Always hotter and dryer than the rest of the city from the concrete / blacktop weather effect. This is closer to home.

http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/green-valley-az/85614/december-weather/2141944?monyr=12/1/2016

16 days below historical average including Xmas @ 52 degrees.

Already 11 days below normal for Jan.

http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/green-valley-az/85614/january-weather/2141944?monyr=1/1/2017

[John_Joey]

2gypsies wrote:
... No, it's not hot and humid but to us it's more than O.K. 🙂

Are you a mobile RV'er currently, or are you in some form of a S&B?

[BarbaraOK]

Yes,everyone should stay away. Too cold, wet, awful. It will be so much better to go somewhere else. SMH

[RossAnabel]

Here in SW MI it has been an odd winter too. We had an unusually warm Fall, nothing resembling Winter until the first week of December when it was like someone flipped a switch to cold and snow. There were a couple of fronts that came through with Lake Effect the other days. After 3 brutal weeks the pattern changed again at Christmas. Since then it has been warm enough to keep any occasional flurries from accumulating. This past Saturday was sunny and 60. I sat out on the deck and had a cold beer, ahhhh! Although since then, cold, rain and fog.
Ross

[2gypsies1]

... and for January the high for the month was 77 and the low 30 (yesterday). No, it's not hot and humid but to us it's more than O.K. 🙂

https://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KDMA/2017/1/1/MonthlyHistory.html?req_city=Tucson&req_s...

[Shot-N-Az]

Thinking more about it, the daily highs have typically been in the 50s.

[Shot-N-Az]

Hey Gypsies...it's been this way most of Jan. We arrived on the first and will be relocating next week. I don't think there has been much more than a 1.5 weeks of sunny weather in the low 60s. It was 39 this morning when I got up with frost on the car. Not only has it been cool, it's been pretty rainy too.

I'm blessed to be able to travel. Definitely a first-world problem I'm complaining about. Nevertheless, travel plans next year will be different.

[2gypsies1]

Our heat so far has been much less than last year. According to this chart for Tucson December had a low of 44 and a high of 80 for the month. We've been able to play pickleball daily. I'll take it!

https://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KDMA/2016/12/1/MonthlyHistory.html?req_city=Tucson&req_...